Wildcat women open basketball season Nov. 17

The Chico State women's basketball team, currently preparing for its Nov. 17 opener against Fresno Pacific, is expected to be a major player this season in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).

In the annual preseason poll of conference coaches released Thursday, the Wildcats have been picked to finish fourth in 2012-13, garnering one of 12 possible first place votes. However, Brian Fogel's squad will be without one of its returners from a year ago.

Paradise High product and redshirt freshman point guard Caressa Williams, who averaged four points and 2.4 rebounds per game to go along with 17 assists and 14 steals in 20 games last year, left Chico for undisclosed reasons this summer. It's not clear whether or not Williams, a 2010 Paradise grad, will come back to Chico State. The Wildcats return eight players from last year's team, along with sophomore Analise Riezebos, who sat out the 2011-12 season due to injury.

Chico State finished 18-11 overall last season and in a tie for fifth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with a 14-8 conference record.

The Wildcats reached the semifinals of the CCAA Championship Tournament and was one of eight teams in the West Region to participate in the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Chico State received 89 points in the preseason coaches' poll. Cal State Monterey Bay was picked to win the CCAA, earning 114 points and five first place votes. Cal State L.A. and UC San Diego came in second and third place, respectively, with both teams receiving three first place votes.

Rounding out the top five behind Chico State were Humboldt State and Cal Poly Pomona, who tied for fifth.

Chico State men tipoff against UOP, Arizona

The Wildcat men will get the opportunity to square off against Arizona in the McHale Center in an exhibition game at 5:30 p.m. (PST) Tuesday. On Sunday at 5 p.m., Chico State plays University of the Pacific. Arizona is the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12, while UOP is picked to finish sixth in Big West this season.

Both games will be broadcast locally on Fox Sports Chico 101.7 FM and 1340 AM and will be streamed live on the Chico State athletics website.

Chico State is one year removed from a history-making season. The Wildcats won their first California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) title during a school record-tying 25-win season that culminated in their first NCAA Championship Tournament victory since 1958.

Thirteen players return from that team, including four starters: Damario Sims, Jason Conrad, Sean Park and Amir Carraway. And the Wildcats, ranked No. 18 in the national preseason poll, were recently picked by the CCAA's coaches as the favorites to claim the conference crown in 2012-13. They'll certainly be tested, however, considering that the CCAA is one of the toughest conferences in the nation. These two preseason games will certainly help to get them prepared.

The Wildcats will open the regular season at home against Pacifica on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. before hosting 10th-ranked Seattle Pacific University and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs in the Carl's Jr. Mac Martin Invitational Nov. 23-24. They open conference play Nov. 30 versus Cal Poly Pomona.